Learning Curve
by A2MOM
Summary: Follow up to The Great Rebuilding, wherein Pavlina teaches Abel, Deimos and Cain how to be parents. multiple pairings. M for language, sex and mature themes.


Learning Curve

* * *

This is the 15th (wow!) fanfiction I have written for Starfighter, created by Hamletmachine. This story is the follow up to The Great Rebuilding, and won't make a lot of sense unless you read that first.

* * *

The first few months Pavlina was home weren't too bad, considering. She had a lot of things to learn—how to use utensils and drink from a cup instead of a bottle, for one. Potty training was another challenge, so Abel researched all the latest methods and bought an ergonomically designed seat she could get on and off herself….So he was justifiably irritated one morning to find Cain had simply lifted Pavlina up onto the big toilet seat, her little legs dangling towards the floor. They were both singing, in between plops.

"Good job, Pavla!" Cain praised when he helped her down and they both inspected the post-breakfast results. Cain grinned up at Abel, stooping to help their little daughter wipe. "Wanna come see, Daddy?"

"I thought we all agreed to have her use the potty chair," Abel said stiffly, arms crossed over his chest. "We need to be consistent."

Pavlina stood patiently while Cain hiked up her panties and pajama pants, then eagerly waved her hand in front of the 'flush' sensor, clapping her hands in delight as the water and various contents _whooshed! _out of sight. Cain ruffled her unruly brown curls and she giggled.

Completely avoiding the child safety step stool Abel had also purchased, Cain turned on the faucet, and hoisted Pavlina to the sink.

"Soap!" he said as she waved her hands under the automatic dispenser; about three times too many and giggling the whole time. "Rinse baby, tops, sides, and in between fingers, good girl! " He turned off the water and held her in front of the hand dryer, which made her shriek with laughter as it blew her hair all over her face.

Cain set her down and with a little pat on the butt, sent her off to the kitchen. "Go tell Nana you can have a treat now," he smiled, and she skipped off, singing as always with Devochka trailing happily in her wake.

With a smug grin, Cain looked over at Abel. "You want to dump the poop outta that damn potty seat, be my guest, Princess, but you're crazy if you think I'm gonna. _Yuck_!"

And he left, with a little pat on Abel's ass too, leaving Abel to stare forlornly at the potty chair and step stool and the chemical-free hand sanitizer and child hand towels he had bought. Somehow, Cain had managed to take a job that contained about a dozen steps, and took about fifteen minutes, into less than half the time. And half the steps.

"Oh well," Abel smiled ruefully, stripping for the shower before work. Sometimes, even Cain could be right.

* * *

It was like that with nearly every mundane task. Even something as apparently simple as going to the bathroom had a myriad of steps that had to be taught. But she was a fast learner, and the advice Keeler had given them about positive reinforcement and behavioral issues had been better than a dozen child rearing studies.

"M&M's," he told them sagely. "You can get a kid to agree to walk on water for those."

So it was two M&M's after a successful potty stop, but you had to let her pick out the colors, which was actually a good way to teach her colors, too. She still didn't talk much but she sang all the time, in English and Czech and Russian. There had been a battle amongst the three of them over who would get to be Daddy, Father or Papa, but again, Keeler advised them to let Pavlina chose.

"And we were Keekee and Ank for Jack for awhile when we first adopted him, so don't feel bad if one of you ends up being Mommy."

But while Devochka was 'Voosh-ka', Cain was the Czech version of daddy, 'Tata'. Deimos was the Russian 'Nana', which was actually pronounced 'pahpa' but from Pavlina, more like 'bahba'. Deimos' father was Dedushka—'Du-ka' was the best Pavlina could say for now, and Abel's parents, Gramma and Grampa. Abel, to his delight, ended up with 'Daddy'.

* * *

"Smells good, Myshonok," Cain purred, pressing himself behind Deimos as he stood at the stove making breakfast. He looped his arms around Deimos' waist and felt him up a little, nuzzling his neck. "Ummm. Pancakes smell good, too."

Deimos laughed and swatted him away with the spatula. "Go make yourself useful and get Pavlina's milk."

"Yes _sir_!"

Deimos stole a look over his shoulder as Cain lifted Pavlina to the cabinets so she could pick out a cup and fork for breakfast. He smiled and went back to flipping the fluffy golden cakes; for someone who'd protested being a father for so long, Cain had taken to it with relatively few complaints.

Abel bustled into the kitchen next, dressed in his trim shuttle pilot's uniform and gave Deimos a quick kiss on the cheek. "God I could smell that all the way down the hall," he said with a grin. "I don't care if I'm late; I'm eating here today instead of on the transport to work."

"Myshonok!" Cain called from the table where he was sipping his coffee, while Pavlina offered Susie-doll some of her milk. "Hungry people over here, snap it up!"

Abel swatted Cain on the back of the head as he slid in to his seat, earning him an offended yelp from Cain and an appreciative laugh from Deimos.

"There you go, Malyshka," Deimos smiled, setting the plate of pancakes in front of their little daughter. He'd spent extra time on hers, making a little smiley face with the blueberries and putting a pat of butter in the center for a nose. He brought the rest of the plates to the table and they all sat and started to dig in.

Except for Pavlina, who looked at her plate and then back up at Deimos with big eyes.

"Uh oh," Cain warned, as she kept looking from the plate to the three of them in turn, her eyes starting to swim.

"Want some extra syrup, sweetheart?" Abel tried, giving her dollop from the bottle but she just looked at them as if she'd been betrayed, her little heart broken.

"Oa-meal," she sniffled, her lip turning down.

Deimos looked in dismay at the pots and pans he still had to clean, from the pancakes he'd just spent the last 20 minutes making.

"Eat your pancake baby," Cain tried with an encouraging smile, holding a lovely golden bite up to her face, fragrant maple syrup dripping onto the plate but she turned her head, her face red with impending—

"Oh dear," Abel said, biting his lip as two fat tears spilled down her sweet little face.

"Crap, there goes the chin," Cain sighed in defeat, putting down the fork as Pavlina's chin started to wobble. "Here Myshonok, I'll make her some oatmeal," he offered in exasperation, standing, but Deimos held out a hand.

"No," he said firmly. He turned to Pavlina. "You have to eat a few bites, Pavla, and if you really don't like it, Nana will make you something else."

"Oa-meal!" Pavlina cried broken heartedly and Deimos felt like the biggest meanie in the room.

"No. Eat a few bites right now, please."

She looked at her other fathers beseechingly and Deimos said, out of the corner of his mouth, "The first one of you that caves is not getting laid for a long time."

Pavlina picked up her fork, took a piece of the dreaded pancake and gave one final look of despair, before holding it out to the side and letting it drop on the floor. Devochka wasted no time lapping it up, having waited patiently for just such a moment.

"Oa-meal!" she sobbed . "Oa-meal, Daddy !Oa-meal, Tata!"

"Deimos….?" Abel was squirming in his seat, and even Cain looked ready to buckle.

"C'mon, Myshonok, it's not like she's asking for ice cream or anything….." Cain put in.

Deimos leveled them both with a look. "Have a nice day, both of you. See you after work."

Pavlina cried and threw a fit and wouldn't let Cain or Abel kiss her goodbye. By the time they'd both left, Deimos was on the verge of tears himself.

* * *

"Of course, five minutes after they walked out the door," Deimos told Encke with a sigh, seated beside him on the back porch steps, in Encke and Keeler's yard, "she tried a bite, realized she liked it, and ate the whole pancake in about five minutes before she ran off to play. She was good as gold the rest of the morning, and I still feel like a complete shit head."

Encke's broad shoulder's shook as he chuckled, one hand clapping down on Deimos' knee. "Get used to it, son," he said, shaking his head. "Kids'll get over a tantrum faster than you can blink, and move on to some other devious plan, forgetin' all 'bout it, while you still workin' your stomach into knots."

He passed Deimos a coke, which Deimos took with thanks. "They're evil, son; pure evil."

Deimos watched the six toddlers running around Keeler and Encke's back yard. It was a beautiful spring day, and these weekly play dates had become the best solution to overcoming Pavlina's shyness, socializing her with children and adults. It was nice for Encke too; stuck at home when the kids weren't in daycare, and Keeler taught aeronautical engineering at a local community college.

Today, in addition to Encke's three youngest—Sophia, two, Jack, four, and Kate, five, there were two new foster children. A little towhaired boy of about six or seven, who was being bossed around by Kate; and a younger girl, maybe five, with brown skin and a long, black braid. She was sitting on the swing alone, drifting slowly back and forth, watching Pavlina, Jack and Sophia laughing and chasing Devochka around the yard.

"If they're so evil," Deimos asked, trying to phrase the question politely, "why do you guys have so many?"

"Dunno," Encke admitted with a shrug. "I keep child proofin' this damn place, but they keep findin' a way in anyhow."

They shared a laugh and then Katie ran up to them, her face alight with glee.

"Papa!" she said, her hands on Encke's bent knees, "Can I have, have, some pop, too?"

"No, you can't," Encke retorted with a glare. "Get over there and drink that juice you wanted so bad. And go give Anu a push on them swings; she's lookin' all lonesome by herself."

"Okay!" Katie said happily, running off to yell, "Okay, all you little kids! We are, are, done playin' Chase the Puppy! Now we are playin' Swings! Get in, in, a line and _wait your turn_!

Deimos turned to Encke incredulously. "How did you do that?"

The bigger man frowned. "What? Discipline? You forget who used to yell at your ass all day back on the _Sleipnir_?"

"Um, no," Deimos said, watching the children line up. Little Anu was now smiling shyly as Katie instructed the blond boy to push her back and forth. "How did you get her to do what you asked, the first time?" He smiled ruefully. "Pavlina cries, and I have to force those two idiots I married not to drop everything and wait on her hand and foot."

"Shit," Encke shook his head, then muttered, "aw, damn it all," as Anu swung back and knocked poor towhead flat on his back. There didn't seem to be any permanent damage though, the boy scrambled out of the way and stood grinning sheepishly while Katie berated him for being so clumsy. "I got four of 'em now, any sympathy I got for crocodile tears was used up a_ looong_ time ago!"

Deimos chuckled, but stopped when Encke suddenly looked up, tense; amber eyes scanning the yard rapidly. "Ah fuck; where the hell is Jack? Jack!" he stood up suddenly and yelled, starting down the steps but drew up short when the little boy wandered out from behind the brightly colored play structure to grin up at him.

"I'm playin', Papa," Jack said sweetly, but Encke marched across the yard and squatted before him, taking him by the arm. There was a brief interchange, Jack smiling and patting Encke's head as Encke made a quick check of his pockets. He hung his head a bit as Encke spoke seriously to him, then Encke gave him a hug and a kiss and sent him back to play. Jack joined Pavlina in the sand box, happily digging what appeared to be an escape tunnel to the other side of the colony, while Devochka supervised with a doggy grin.

Encke came back to sit next to Deimos, a troubled look on his face. Wordlessly, he set a handful of small stones and a rather sharp stick on the steps between himself and Deimos.

"Little bugger swore he didn't swallow none; Keeler's gonna hand me my ass again if we end up in the ER tonight."

Deimos looked up, horrified. "He swallows stones?"

Encke nodded, eyes trained on Jack now as the little boy played innocently with Pavlina. "Stones, toys, my pain pills, pieces of crayons…." He spared a bleak glance at Deimos. "First night he was here he got a hold a Miles' lighter and nearly burned the whole fuckin' house down. Did that at one of the fosters he lived in before us, too." Encke shook his head, looking worried. "You heard about the chemical warfare the 'Terons used to use?"

Deimos smiled tightly. "That's how I lost my voice for so long. Inhalation burns, when colony five was hit with Ammonium gas."

Encke closed his eyes briefly and squeezed Deimos shoulder, before rubbing his hand across his own face. "Fuck, Baby, that's hard. I thought getting my leg tore off and then sewn up to this damn biomechanical piece of crap," he rapped the side of his left thigh, which made a dull, ringing sound, "was bad enough."

He pointed a long finger at Jack. "Jack's mama got gassed too, when she was 'bout nineteen. Got a blood cancer they couldn't fix, and then got pregnant with Jack. She died, just after he was born….Jack's daddy took off, and there was no other kin, so Jack got adopted out."

Encke smiled sadly, watching the beautiful little boy with the curly hair and big, grey eyes. "Cute little kid; easy placement. Then he started acting up and been bouncin' all through the system, til he bounced here to stay. Doctors say there's a whole lotta these kids out there with fucked up DNA who're gonna have all kinds of psychological issues and shit….they tested Jack; he ain't an XYY, at least, otherwise he'd be institutionalized for life."

Deimos looked up at his friend's brooding expression, feeling cold inside. "Tell you somethin', Baby," Encke said softly. "Anyone thinks this war was over five years ago, is full of shit. This war ain't even begun."

* * *

The apartment was dark when Abel got home; the wall chrono reading 2115. Abel's shoulders slumped a bit. He'd missed storytime, again.

Deimos came to greet him a moment later, barefoot and clad only in a pair of drawstring pants that hung low on his slender hips. He smiled and came to press a kiss to Abel's mouth and Abel let his hand slip around the smooth, bare side of his waist.

"Is the baby in bed?" Abel asked, already knowing the answer and sighing when Deimos nodded yes. "Oh, damn. What story did you read tonight?"

Deimos rolled his eyes with a smirk. "Three guesses."

Abel laughed, following his husband into their bedroom. Pavlina had been on a Big Bad Wolf kick lately and was obsessed with Little Red Riding Hood. "Did she wear the red hat Dedushka sent, too?"

Deimos nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed while Abel stripped down to his shorts. "The whole time," Deimos chuckled. He lounged back on the mattress, his lithe body stretched invitingly. "Are you hungry, Abel? I can heat something up for you?"

"No; thanks love, but we ate on the flight home." He paused, hearing the shower run and hoping Cain would save him some hot water. Probably not, he thought darkly.

"How was therapy today?" he asked, tossing his shirt and pants in the laundry bin. Deimos went monthly for T-cell injections to repair his damaged larynx and they often left him feeling tired and achey. When he didn't answer right away, Abel turned to look back at him, waiting with a fresh T-shirt in his hands.

"If you put that shirt on," Deimos informed him mildly," I'm going to rip it off you. I'm fine, Pavlina's fine, Cain's fine. I've been trying to seduce you since you walked in the door, so will you please get over here so I can fuck you?"

Abel smiled slowly, feeling heat rise to his face. "Make me."

Deimos rose up off the bed, sleek as a cat; that small, predatory smile on his face making Abel's nipples peak. Maintaining eye contact the whole while, Deimos took the shirt out of Abel's hands, and tossed it on the bed. He pressed Abel against the wall with his body, Abel making a breathy little gasp when their bare torsos met.

"Open your mouth, milaya moya," Deimos whispered against his lips. "I want to suck your tongue."

Without waiting Deimos gripped the lower half of Abel's face in one hand and pressed their mouths together. He thrust his tongue inside, tasting faintly of red wine and Abel moaned helplessly in the back of his throat. His hands came up to tangle in Deimos hair as their bodies pressed fully together and when Deimos sucked gently on his tongue, he felt his dick go from semi firm to rock hard in a matter of minutes.

Together they maneuvered to the bed and Abel let Deimos push him on his back and hold his arms down at his sides. Abel was slightly taller but Deimos was far stronger, kissing him with possessive deep thrusts of his tongue while pinning him in place. Both Deimos and Cain knew exactly how he liked to be dominated, and Abel arched his back and moaned as Deimos kissed and licked his way across his body, When Deimos started rubbing his face against the erection tenting the front of Abel's boxers; Abel thrashed and started to beg.

"Nuh! Suck me; suck me, please!" Abel's fingers tugged at Deimos hair painfully and he found himself flipped suddenly onto his belly, Deimos pulling his hips up and back.

"Going to fuck you first; I've been waiting to slide into this sweet," Deimos pulled his boxers down and Abel clumsily tried to help him, Deimos laughing at him when his dick got caught before bobbing free. "This sweet snug little ass of yours, all day."

Deimos pressed a kiss to his cheeks, biting and licking here and there but just teasing him, making him squirm and beg, until—

"Ngh! Unh God oh God oh God!" Abel rocked back against Deimos' teasing, licking tongue as it danced across his hole, unbearably horny and trying desperately to keep from screaming. He buried his face in the blankets as he was tongued and finger-fucked until he thought he couldn't stand it, and then Deimos was rearing up behind him, naked and pressing his beautiful hard cock inside him, joining their bodies together.

Abel threw his head back and started to pant, shifting his weight to one hand so he could jerk himself off. The bed dipped, and then Cain was on his knees in front of him, body warm from the shower, hand fisted in Abel's hair and pulling his mouth to his dick. Abel faltered and put both hands on the mattress again as Cain began to fuck his face.

"Suck it Princess; that's right, just like that, ohhh!" Cain groaned and pulled at his hair, and Abel was trapped between them, Deimos thrusting into him and Cain pushing down his throat and he loved it, oh god he loved it…!

"You look so sexy getting your ass fucked by Myshonok ," Cain panted and Abel heard Deimos laugh breathlessly, hands digging into his ass as he sped up his thrusts. "Looks like you love it baby, don't you…?" Abel felt their bodies shift and he knew they were leaning across him to kiss, Cain groaning as he tasted Abel on Deimos' tongue—

The knob to their bedroom door turned, and the three of them sprang apart as if they'd been burned. Abel dropped to the mattress, flat on his stomach and Deimos hunched down behind him, cursing and yanking a pillow over his crotch. Cain, his back to the door, sat quickly to hide his bare ass, no time to cover himself with anything but his hands and then a little voice said petulantly, "Daddy, come kiss me night-night?"

"In-in just a minute, sweet heart," Abel panted, face scarlet and really praying Pavlina stayed where she was in the doorway and didn't, ah, shit…..

She trotted halfway into the room, looking at them in turn curiously and rubbing her eyes. Susie-doll dangled from one hand, held upside down by a foot, looking highly uncomfortable. Abel knew exactly how she felt.

Cain discretely shifted his body away from her as Pavlina halted just a few meters from the bed, crossing his legs quickly, and Abel felt Deimos pull the blanket over his bare ass."Sweetheart, go back to bed, this is grown up time, Daddy will be there in a minute."

"Da," she mumbled sleepily, and padded out, leaving the door wide open with Devochka lying in the hallway, tongue lolling out of her mouth and smiling at all of them.

A ringing silence filled the room as they looked at each other stupidly.

"Give her a minute," Cain whispered hopefully, "Maybe she'll fall back asle-?"

"Daaaaddddy?" a little voice called forlornly and Abel closed his eyes with a groan.

He got up dejectedly, his dick no longer hard and grabbed his robe out of the closet.

"Okay if we finish while you're gone?" Cain asked, then yelped when Deimos tossed a pillow at his head.

"Might as well," Abel sighed, feeling completely sorry for himself. "I have a feeling this is going to take a while.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, they were both asleep, the bastards, the room reeking of sex and Cain sprawled half on top of Deimos. Abel considered his options; take matters into his own hands, wait til tomorrow, or dump a bucket of ice water on both their selfish heads. He stomped around the room petulantly, throwing hateful glances at the bed when neither of them stirred. Fine, he thought, climbing into bed and yanking most of the covers around himself, be that way. Wait til the next time either of _them_ want to—

He forgot how fast Cain could move until he was on top of him, pinning him face down on the bed. Cain's hard body—and even harder cock—lay snuggly against Abel's bare ass. He heard them exchange a few words in Russian, too fast for him to translate, and then Deimos laughed, slipping out of bed to go lock the bedroom door.

"Are you done pouting, and ready to be fucked into next week?" Cain growled at Abel's ear, worrying the tender lobe with his teeth. He frotted against Abel's ass, pushing Abel's dick against the cool sheets. Abel struggled under him, snarling, "fuck off, you bastard," which unfortunately sounded like "God yes please!" instead.

Within minutes he was back up on his hands and knees, with Cain behind him this time as Deimos lay with his face between Abel's parted legs, tongue swirling maddeningly around the head of Abel's dick. Slick fingers penetrated him, sliding in and out slowly, making him moan and clench his teeth in the pillow as his ass rocked back and forth. They were both already satisfied so they were going to be merciless, he knew; teasing him until he was beyond begging.

Cain mounted him then and penetrated him in slow thrusts until Abel was shaking, sweat running down his face. It was torture trying not to scream, especially when Deimos rose up to swallow him deeper and oh, God, Abel really shouldn't have been shoving down his throat but he couldn't hold back.

"Come for us, sexy baby," Cain crooned, grinding into him and making Abel scream into the pillow. "Show us how horny we make you."

Abel shuddered and was shooting down Deimos' throat before Cain had even stopped talking. Cain fucked him harder and when his last pulses were spent, Deimos rolled away and crouched before Abel, pulling his face into his lap. Abel was exhausted by now but it took barely a dozen sucks and Deimos gasped, fingers digging into his hair. Abel felt Cain's body shift over his and then heard Deimos give a strangled cry and the sounds of sucking, Cain's mouth probably latching onto one of his sensitive nipples. Cain came shortly after, face pressed into Deimos chest and groaning as his body shook in release.

Abel drifted off between his two lovers, thinking it had been a rather satisfactory ending to a long, tiring day.

Until the guilt, that only children can cause, began to set in…..

* * *

Once a month they all got together at Oberon and Puck's loft, overlooking the valleys of Colony seven. A skilled chef who worked at a five-star resort, Oberon would grill surf and turf and Puck would pour generous amounts of wine and spirits. They were casual, come as you are affairs, children welcome, and Abel looked forward to catching up with his former shipmates in the relaxed, comfortable atmosphere. Puck and Oberon had two adopted twin daughters, Isabella and Marie, both ten and rendered deaf during the continual shelling on colony five. It was the ultimate of ironies that Puck, who loved to talk, would have two silent children.

Sometimes Tibalt, Encke's former navigator, would come, bringing his husband and wife, who was expecting their first child. Porthos and Ethos would visit when they were free; they'd settled together on earth and were both instructors at the Alliance military academy. They had a son, Gabriel, who was three, born from a surrogate and the spitting image of them both; a big boned, round faced and happy go lucky child.

Athos and Praxis were the only couple who remained childless, Athos insisting he hated children, while looking at all the little ones wistfully. Praxis was in his residency as a trauma surgeon, and looked incredibly handsome and younger with a new, cloned eye. Athos had become a somewhat spoiled jet-setter, coming from a very wealthy family, and claimed he was happy doing nothing all day. Praxis had always done whatever he thought made Athos happy, and frankly, the group was getting ready for an intervention on their behalf.

Abel generally used the occasions to seek parenting advice, much to Cain's chagrin.

"Is she warped for life now?" Abel asked anxiously. "Everytime we all go in our room together, Pavlina asks if we're going to have 'grown up time', and can she and Devochka play, too?"

Puck, his legs curled under him on his huge, cream colored sofa, sipped delicately at his white wine. "This one's all yours, Keel."

Abel looked at Keeler, seated on his right on a matching couch, looking relaxed in khaki's and a light blue pullover; tonight with only one child in tow. Keeler was looking around the spacious, spotless living room with something like awe.

"It's so _clean_," he said, with a forlorn look on his face. "How do you keep this place so _clean_?"

Athos grinned, seated next to Puck. "You guys have a maid I bet—no, wait, a houseboy! " Puck turned pink, and Athos laughed and poked him with a toe. "God, I've always wanted a houseboy!"

"You have one," Cain commented dryly, seated on the other side of Abel, with his arm around his shoulders. "His name is Praxis."

Athos shot Cain a filthy look, but thankfully Praxis was across the room chatting with Deimos and Oberon and didn't hear Cain.

"Encke," Keeler called over his shoulder to his spouse, "I want a maid for my thirtieth birthday!"

"You're thirty-one, Baby," Encke reminded him, rocking a slumbering Sophia as he sat, stomach full and half-sleepy himself, in the lazy-boy.

Keeler frowned down at his seven and seven. "Goddamnit," he grumbled, tossing back his drink. He turned to Abel. "Come on, sweetheart, didn't you ever walk in on your parents having sex?"

Abel looked faintly nauseous at the thought. "I don't think my parents ever had sex," he frowned. "At least, I hope not."

Puck waved a hand. "Oh, stop worrying." He glanced over to where Oberon was showing off his huge, wall sized aquarium to the rest of their dinner guests. Isabella and Marie had taken Pavlina by the hand and were pointing out the various fish to her.

"Oberon and I have been walked in on too." He gestured proudly to his children, one with bright pink hair to her waist, the other with rainbow colored dreadlocks in the style of Oberon. "And just look; our girls are as normal as can be!"

Athos looked at Puck with a sly smile. "I'd like to walk in on you and Oberon, too," he murmured.

The pink haired girl, Isabella, ran up to Puck, her skin rosy with excitement. She signed rapidly and Puck nodded and smiled back.

"She wants to know," Puck said, turning to Cain and Abel but still signing for his daughter's benefit, "If Pavlina's Tata can come see the fish, too?"

Cain grinned, surprised and happy, " I never turn down a pretty girl," he said, and Puck giggled, signing rapidly as Isabella gazed at Cain like he was a rockstar.

"God, they don't shut up about him for _days_ after we have you guys over," Puck said, shaking his head as Cain was dragged away.

Deimos drifted over and reached a hand for Abel's glass. "Want a refill, milaya moya?" he asked. "I'm getting one too."

"Oh," Abel smiled up at him, "thanks; yes, love, that would be nice."

Deimos looked at the group in question, but no one else wanted anything. He wandered off towards the wet bar and the group of former navigators watched with a collective sigh.

Keeler gave Abel a nudge with his elbow. "Well you can certainly pick 'em, Abel," he said with a smile, and Abel blushed.

"No shit," Athos said, staring raptly—probably at Deimos' ass, Abel thought. Athos grinned at Abel. "So, how does this whole 'three-way' thing work, anyway?"

"Ooo, yeah, Abel," Puck asked with big eyes. "Cain still a big, tough top? Or has he discovered the joys of taking it up the butt yet?"

"I HEARD that," an offended voice called from across the room, and Puck turned pink and giggled while Encke laughed.

Abel gave Deimos a secret little wink, their fingers brushing as Deimos returned and handed him his wine before he sauntered off. "No comment," Abel smiled.

Athos huffed in disappointment and Abel added, "You haven't done so bad, Athos. Praxis looks really good, with the new eye."

"I HEARD that too!" Abel just shook his head and ignored Cain.

"So, Athos honey; when are you guys-?" Puck started, and Athos glared at him. Puck closed his mouth with a snap.

"_We aren't_, so stop asking me every time we come over, all of you." He swirled the ice in his mixed drink with a crabby look on his face, then drained the glass and set it aside. "If I want to be nagged, I'll go to visit my mothers."

There was an uncomfortable silence, and then Encke stretched and stood, shifting Sophia, and said, "Nature callin'. Baby, can you hold little boo a minute for me?'

But he walked right past Keeler, and deposited Sophia in a startled Athos' arms.

"What the-?!" Athos sputtered, glancing at the little blonde angel in horror. "Keeler! Nice try, hahah, now take your damn kid!"

Puck bit his lip to keep from laughing. "Um, I think I I'll get the dessert started now," he lied, and darted off to the kitchen. He shared a little wave with Encke, who had ambled back from the bathroom and went to chat with Deimos, Oberon and Praxis.

Keeler blithely ignored the murderous glare and strangled oaths from Athos, standing and holding out his hand to Abel. "Did you know," he said conversationally, "that Oberon has an _octopus_ in that tank? Let's go check it out; I've always had a thing for tentacles."

"Abel, don't you dare—Keeler? Keeler!"

Keeler turned a radiant smile on Athos, the one he used just before he tore someone a new asshole. "Be careful with my child, sweetheart; she's going to be really cranky if you wake her up. And so am I."

With a final, silently mouthed _sorry_ to Athos, Abel let Keeler drag him away.

* * *

Across the room, Praxis frowned, looking over at Athos furtively. "Doesn't look like it's working; Athos looks _pissed_," he sighed in resignation. "I better go over there-,"

"Baby," Encke said to him, watching Keeler watch the octopus in fascination, "you take one step over that way, I am whippin' your ass."

"I'll help!" Cain offered with a grin. "Let's find out if that new eye of yours will bleed like the last one!"

Deimos' jaw dropped at that in outrage. He spat a string of Russian at Cain that made his face turn bright red. Abel caught the words "you stupid, _insensitive clod_!", and then Pavlina, who was held aloft in Cain's arms to better see the fish, looked at Deimos wide eyed.

"Nana said bad word," she informed them all, eyes round as saucers.

Deimos ignored her, glaring at Cain until he finally muttered a sheepish apology to Praxis.

Praxis didn't seem to care anyway. Abel felt sorry for him; poor Praxis always seemed to get the shit end of the stick. He had nearly everything he wanted—Athos, money, a respected career and a beautiful home —but he wanted a child too. Athos, unfortunately, kept insisting he did not.

But then, so had Cain. Inspiration suddenly struck Abel.

"Here, I'll take her for a bit," he said, reaching for Pavlina. "Why don't you go keep Athos company?"

Cain frowned. "Because….he hates me?'

Abel sweetened the deal with a kiss on the cheek. "No, Cain, he told me a long time ago he thinks you're hot." Abel ignored the strangled sound that came from Praxis, and Oberon's deep, musical laugh. "Now go."

* * *

"Oh, thank god," Athos looked up with a moan of relief as Cain sauntered over to plop on the loveseat across from him. "Take this kid off my hands, please? I can't feel my left arm."

Cain chuckled, fishing out a cigarette but then frowning when he remembered he couldn't smoke indoors. "Right. I won't be feeling my left nut if I disarm you now. You're on your own, Queenie."

Athos looked desperate. "I'll pay you…?"

Resting his boots on the coffee table, Cain clasped his hands over his belly contentedly. "She's supposed to be making your biological clock tick, or don't you have one, like the rest of the girls?"

"You think I don't know that?" Athos snapped, and if Cain was a nicer guy, he'd have felt sorry at how humiliated Athos looked. "You think I like coming over here to sit and listen to everyone else talk about their perfect children?"

As Cain truly was an insensitive clod, he laughed. "Fuck; why anyone would want _you_ to have a kid is beyond me anyway." He snorted, smirking at Athos' troubled look. "I can't think of anyone who's _less_ fucking parent material, except me."

He watched Athos digest that one. Up close he really wasn't as bad looking as Cain had always thought. He stared at Athos' mouth, recalling all the things Deimos had once told him the little slut could do with his tongue.

"But you ….seem like you really love Pavlina, don't you?" Athos asked, confused. "I'm a little surprised, I didn't think anyone so self-centered could really love anyone….?"

Cain used Athos' moment of introspection to surreptitiously adjust his dick. "Hah! Yeah, who'd have thought?! Man, it's fuckin' hard ass work though; taking her to the park and playing beauty shop and dolls and everything…Not to mention having to sit there at night, reading books to her and having her curl up next to you all nice and warm and soft….I mean, shit, kids are fuckin' expensive and they take a shitload of time," He studied his fingernails. "You and Cyclops wouldn't be free to just fuck whenever and where ever you want anymore, either."

He noticed Sophia had settled against Athos like a little warm blanket now, and that Athos, surprisingly, was absently rubbing her back.

"That's a lousy sales pitch, Cain," Athos grumbled. "Deimos and Abel just tricked you into adopting, didn't they? Praxis wouldn't do that to me."

"We _haven't_ adopted her yet," Cain shrugged. "The agency makes you wait a goddamn year. If someone else claims her during that time, like her shithead biological father, we have to give her up."

All the color drained out of Athos' face, and Cain said, quietly, "But if anyone tries to take my little girl away from _me_, I'll gut him like one of Oberon's fish."

Keeler floated over then, bending to take Sophia from Athos, who looked rather bereft once the little girl was in her father's arms. Cain smiled, studying Keeler's shapely ass….Ah, some things didn't change….Being insensitive certainly had advantages.

* * *

"I heard from Keeler the other day," Abel said a few weeks later, on a rare day all three of them had off together. "Athos and Praxis are talking about adopting those two children he and Encke have been fostering; Stefan and Anu."

Cain rolled over in bed, hair sticking up at outrageous angles, and buried his face in his pillow. "Poor kids," he muttered. A few minutes later, Abel heard him snoring again.

Deimos was sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling on his socks. The four of them were going to the zoo today with Deimos' father. Well, if Cain could get up, that is.

"Want me to kick him?" Deimos offered helpfully.

Abel paused, but then shook his head. Cain had been working twelve hour shifts all week, and Abel knew he was exhausted. "No, let him sleep. We're not meeting Dedushka til this afternoon, anyway."

Deimos seemed to understand. "Okay, milaya moya. Whatever you say."

Abel finished dressing and hummed happily to himself. Devochka wandered over for a scratch behind the ears and Abel followed her to Pavlina's room to see if she was awake. Her little bed was empty though, and Abel had a momentary irrational stab of fear shoot through him. Then he heard her sweet little voice singing and he smiled in relief, following the sound out to the living room.

"Come on, Girl," Abel said to the old dog. "Let's go see what Pavlina wants to make for breakfast today."

Devochka smiled up at him with her doggy tongue hanging out of her mouth, probably hoping for pancakes again.

Abel got to the end of the hallway, and pulled up short. Pavlina sat in front of a bare stretch of wall between the couch and computer station, chatting with Susie-doll. At least, it used to be a bare stretch of wall; currently it boasted a long, colorful mural in Pavlina's childish scrawl. Her markers were spread out all around her and her little fingers were stained with various shades of orange and blue and green.

Something Keeler once told him, about Washable Markers being one of the great lies of the universe, flashed through Abel's mind, and he squeezed his eyes shut with a defeated groan. This was going to take hours to clean…..

"Daddy," he looked down to see his little daughter's innocent face smiling up at him. Her beautiful light brown eyes shown with happiness and it struck Abel, how much she looked like Deimos. Nothing like me, he thought sadly, as she tugged on his hand with ink smeared fingers. "I drawed a picture for you, Daddy."

"That's nice, sweetheart," he smiled, looking at the ink streaks on her face in dismay. "But, um, where are your coloring books…..?"

"This is _Family_," Pavlina was explaining. Abel sat with a sigh on the floor next to her, while she pointed out the various features of her masterpiece. He knew when Deimos had joined them from the "oh no…!" he heard behind him. Devochka, the only one unperturbed, walked up to the wall and sniffed it curiously before flopping down on her side.

"Daddy," Pavlina pointed to a large, green circle with yellow spikes shooting out of the top of its body, and glaring blue circles staring crazily at him. "Nana," she said, pointing to the next circle and then a third, adorned with jagged black and blue zig-zags. "Tata."

"How come I don't have any hair?" Deimos complained quietly from his perch on the couch behind them.

"This is Vooch-ka," Pavlina smiled, pointing to a lumpy, hippo-type creature with pointed ears and a long tail. "Pavla," she finished proudly. All of the circles had stick arms that were touching and were lined up in a wobbly row. The last, her own, had a crooked smile and was surrounded by pink outlines. A four-year old rendering of Susie-doll hung from the Pavlina-circle's 'hand'.

She had thrown in some brightly colored blobs that she said were O-ron's fishes, and some random scrawls that looked like flowers and pancakes. Another circle hovered over the rest, a big yellow outline surrounding it, and grey triangles poking out of it's sides.

"It's very pretty, sweetheart,"Abel smiled, and he meant it. "What is this, the sun up in the sky?"

Pavlina shook her head. "Maminka," she said. "Maminka star."

Abel smiled wrly. "Maminka?" he asked, brushing a curl out of Pavlina's face. "Is that one of your playfriends?"

"It means Mama. It's Czech, for mama."

Abel grew very still. Cain had wandered out to join them, sitting beside Deimos on the couch. Both were looking at the drawing with unreadable looks on their faces.

They knew so little about her, just that she had been found wandering, frightened and crying in the relocation camp where she and her mother had lived. No trace had ever been found of her mother.

Pavlina stepped closer to Abel and put her little hands on either side of his face. "Sometimes, can you find her? In all the sky and stars, with the shuttle-ship? And she come home, to Pavla and Daddy's house, and live with Nana and Tata and Vooch-ka."

Abel felt tears burn his eyes. "I-?" He stopped and swallowed, looking back at Deimos and Cain's anxious faces. Neither of them looked like they had any answers, either. How the hell was he supposed to explain this?

"Daddy can't bring Maminka home on the shuttle, sweetheart," Abel explained carefully. "Maminka is….? Um, Mamnika has to stay where the other stars are."

Pavlina was quiet a moment, considering. "So you can see your way home, Daddy? So you can come home for Nana and Papa?"

"And Pavlina," Abel smiled, swallowing hard. "Daddy comes home for Pavlina most of all."

"Can the stars make you see, betterer and betterer?"

He felt a reassuring touch against the back of his head, and reached up to clasp Deimos hand for strength. "I can see lots better with the stars, sweet heart," Abel said thickly. He squeezed her arms gently. "Especially with Maminka. Her star is the brightest."

Pavlina hugged him then. "Don't be sad, Daddy," she said against his hair. She pulled back, and looked at him solemnly. "Susie-doll said you can play coloring now. She said she will share, and you will be happy."

"I am happy; baby," Abel said with a watery smile, reaching for a marker and scooting toward the wall. "And I can't think of anything else I'd rather do."

* * *

Thank you for reading! Hamletmachine deserves all the love for creating these beautiful characters, and being kind enough to share them, with Susie-doll, and me.-A2MOM :)


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